Thanks a lot for posting, Duke of Marmalade! I must say it even sounded as if Frederik was the
translator for the Russian lady instead of the reverse.
Normally a speech is fluently recited and the translator needs some time to consider and to find
the right phrasing, here it's been exactly the other way round.

As a Russian speaker, it's been fun to follow the trip via video. The previous assessments of Fred's speaking are accurate. IMO, I think you either have the gift of speech making or you don't. I've never been impressed with his oration skills, Fred seems like he's got ADHD or something with all the fidgeting. But, he could have at least practiced reading the notes prior.

Frederik only had to say a few ordinary sentences and even those have to be read from some notes he keeps fiddling with in front of the microphone. Not everybody is a good speaker but this is a low for a royal speeking in front of the media (it wasnt even a speech).

People were wondering why Mary didnt go on this trip, I am asking myself, why did Frederik go? QM & Hendrik can handle such a trip very well on their own and a CP - in general but especially if he performs worse than a school boy when speaking in front of the media - only looks like the assistant of the parents dangling along.

Easy now, let's be careful not to stigmatize the man. It wasn't long ago dyslectics were considered slow.

Frederik is indeed a very poor speaker and this performance was toe-curlingly bad, bordering on beeing embarassing. But it doesn't mean he's not intelligent.
He needs help.

He can perform but it's my impression that when he stands there in front of the microphones the curtain goes down. This time the curtain came crashing down! It's a mental issue.
That can be helped, but it takes work, a lot of work. The rest of his live. Beginning with Frederik himself: "Hi, I'm Frederik, I'm a lousy speaker too".

Why doesn't he get help? I don't know. I so wish he would.
This is where we enter the realm of speculation. He's too proud? He's too stubborn? He wants to deal with the problem himself? He genuinely can't see the problem? Your guess is as good as mine.
However, in this day and age and being in Frederik's position, having so poor oratorical skills is a severe handicap and it ought to dealt with as such.
Get some serious help, Frederik!!

The irony of it all is that if he did go public and talked about his problem, acknowledged it and said he is getting help, he would get praise and support instead of critizism.

Easy now, let's be careful not to stigmatize the man. It wasn't long ago dyslectics were considered slow.

Frederik is indeed a very poor speaker and this performance was toe-curlingly bad, bordering on beeing embarassing. But it doesn't mean he's not intelligent.
He needs help.

He can perform but it's my impression that when he stands there in front of the microphones the curtain goes down. This time the curtain came crashing down! It's a mental issue.
That can be helped, but it takes work, a lot of work. The rest of his live. Beginning with Frederik himself: "Hi, I'm Frederik, I'm a lousy speaker too".

Why doesn't he get help? I don't know. I so wish he would.
This is where we enter the realm of speculation. He's too proud? He's too stubborn? He wants to deal with the problem himself? He genuinely can't see the problem? Your guess is as good as mine.
However, in this day and age and being in Frederik's position, having so poor oratorical skills is a severe handicap and it ought to dealt with as such.
Get some serious help, Frederik!!

The irony of it all is that if he did go public and talked about his problem, acknowledged it and said he is getting help, he would get praise and support instead of critizism.

People were wondering why Mary didnt go on this trip, I am asking myself, why did Frederik go? QM & Hendrik can handle such a trip very well on their own and a CP - in general but especially if he performs worse than a school boy when speaking in front of the media - only looks like the assistant of the parents dangling along.

I would say as a "trio" (instead of the royal couple only) they were able to carry out a much larger number
of engagements. Otherwise the visit would have been longer or less invitations could have been accepted.
If you recheck the agenda on page one of this thread, you'll see that CP Frederik attended several events
of his special task fields and interests.

And not to forget, he's the heir to the throne, it's a good practice and an honour for the state that is visited
if several numbers of a royal family join in.

Easy now, let's be careful not to stigmatize the man. It wasn't long ago dyslectics were considered slow.

Frederik is indeed a very poor speaker and this performance was toe-curlingly bad, bordering on beeing embarassing. But it doesn't mean he's not intelligent.
He needs help.

He can perform but it's my impression that when he stands there in front of the microphones the curtain goes down. This time the curtain came crashing down! It's a mental issue.
That can be helped, but it takes work, a lot of work. The rest of his live. Beginning with Frederik himself: "Hi, I'm Frederik, I'm a lousy speaker too".

Why doesn't he get help? I don't know. I so wish he would.
This is where we enter the realm of speculation. He's too proud? He's too stubborn? He wants to deal with the problem himself? He genuinely can't see the problem? Your guess is as good as mine.
However, in this day and age and being in Frederik's position, having so poor oratorical skills is a severe handicap and it ought to dealt with as such.
Get some serious help, Frederik!!

The irony of it all is that if he did go public and talked about his problem, acknowledged it and said he is getting help, he would get praise and support instead of critizism.

Thanks Muhler for your wise words. The Crown Prince is a highly intelligent man and I am sure he is aware of the importance of good oratorical skill. What I want to know however is what was said at the final press conference on Dannebrog! Have you had a chance to hear this and could you summarize if you can? Having just visited St Petersburg myself I am anxious to know how the Queen will summarize her experiences!

Thanks Muhler for your wise words. The Crown Prince is a highly intelligent man and I am sure he is aware of the importance of good oratorical skill. What I want to know however is what was said at the final press conference on Dannebrog! Have you had a chance to hear this and could you summarize if you can? Having just visited St Petersburg myself I am anxious to know how the Queen will summarize her experiences!

It's still slow and a bit tiring for me to type a lot, so please bear with me.

I think we should wait for the BB articles Thursday.
From what little I have seen so far, QMII sounded as if she has a cold. The Regent Couple were last on an official visit to Russia/Soviet Union in 1975 and what strikes them the most is the tremendous change since then, not least in the mentallity of the Russians. They are much more open now, and not afraid to speak to foreigners. They express themselves freely know.
QMII also commented on 9/11.

Frederik returned home today.
QMII will fly home in a couple of days, while PH will sail to Helsingfors.

I would love to know what her HM is going to do during her private time while visiting St Petersburg. Maybe a visit to St Isaacs Cathedral perhaps where the Dowager Empress was laid to rest in 2005.

Did she not already visit the grave of the Dowager Empress during the official portion? I would love to be a fly on the wall of Dannebrog and listen to the plans for HM private visit. Surely the many museums of St Petersburg will attract her attention and the Hermitage itself is worth several days of study! Perhaps an evening at the Mariinsky Theatre to hear Boris Godunov that is playing this month and maybe a ballet performance or two (or three!) will be on the agenda. There is more than enough to see in St Petersburg! Bonne visite majeste!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muhler

It's still slow and a bit tiring for me to type a lot, so please bear with me.

I think we should wait for the BB articles Thursday.
From what little I have seen so far, QMII sounded as if she has a cold. The Regent Couple were last on an official visit to Russia/Soviet Union in 1975 and what strikes them the most is the tremendous change since then, not least in the mentallity of the Russians. They are much more open now, and not afraid to speak to foreigners. They express themselves freely know.
QMII also commented on 9/11.

Frederik returned home today.
QMII will fly home in a couple of days, while PH will sail to Helsingfors.

Muhler, are you unwell? Have you been injured! Of course I await your convenience and Thursday's BB but please take care!

Thank you Gerry for the info. The Marinsky is a beautiful theatre/palace and Her Majesty would love to see a performance there. As you say the Hermitage is well worth some quality time. I would love to visit St Petersburg myself. One day perhaps my dream will come true.

First of all, @Muhler, I wish you a quick and complete recovery!
As for Frederik, well I feel pretty bad for him, because during the last press events he hadn't been so bad, IMO. When opening Ahrus (spelling?) festival, the press said his speech was well elaborated and much worked upon, so I really don't know what happend this time to make it so bad for him.
We can only speculating:
maybe he had no time / no will to practice this time;
maybe something went wrong with the notes (e.g. the sheets were misplaced) and he lost track of the speech;
maybe he feels particularly uneasy when his parents - with whom we know he had / is having a difficult relationship - are watching him, knowing that there is (might be) a problem in is performance and in a way "marking" his performance...

I do agree that, shoud it be the case that he IS dyslexic, he should go public and would get a lot of support. But there again, do we know if this is HIS decision to make? Maybe the greymen and/or his parents and/or the PR are against it, or maybe he thinks he could keep things under control (as in facts he does the majority of times when, though far from excellent, nonetheless he does deliver his speech in a "normal" way) and fears admitting a problem would damage his image...
What I do not understand, is this:
he seems more at ease when having to improvise a dialogue with the press - e.g. when he announced the twins' birth, or at Christian's first day of school - that when he has to read a previsouly written (by him or by a ghoastwriter, it is the same) speech in front of an audience. Which prompts me to say that maybe it is not a case of dylsexia but of being very emotive and shy: in the official situation he gest more self-conscious, all the more so kwnowing that he is not good at it and that the papers have remarked upon this several times, and his tongue gest more and more tied... So perhaps he should learn to keep quite, calm and recollected...

What I do not understand, is this:
he seems more at ease when having to improvise a dialogue with the press - e.g. when he announced the twins' birth, or at Christian's first day of school - that when he has to read a previsouly written (by him or by a ghoastwriter, it is the same) speech in front of an audience. Which prompts me to say that maybe it is not a case of dylsexia but of being very emotive and shy: in the official situation he gest more self-conscious, all the more so kwnowing that he is not good at it and that the papers have remarked upon this several times, and his tongue gest more and more tied... So perhaps he should learn to keep quite, calm and recollected...

Frederik will probably never be the greatest speaker in Denmark, but I have
seen (videos) many speeches where he has done ok. It's not like he messes up every single time.

Thanks for the link that I have pasted into Google translate, so that I much better understand the economic importance of HM trip and more fully appreciate the historical importance as well. I found a youtube version of the Dowager empress' visit to Denmark in 1901 with her family that HM referred to during the press conferfence as reported in Politiken.
here is the link so that you can rest your arm, that I hope heals soon!

I find it hard to belive that women like Queen M
and Mary wouldn't have the guts to be honest...
I think they know the problem. Maybe he has had some media training,
but has "lapses".

I'm not sure that HM is the type who'd confront CP about his problem; according to herself she prefers the 'learning by doing' method and
besides, don't forget that she wasn't a brilliant speaker herself in her
younger years. It came out differently though; CP Frederik has a peculiar
way with syntax while HM used to hide behind a lot of circumlocutions, reservations, double negations, old fashioned or 'unusual' expressions,
the latter made up in an instant for the want of a more adequate word.
She still does to some extend but her public speaking abilities have
improved a lot over the past two decades.

As for CP Mary, yes maybe she could/can, however I don't know what it would do to their marriage. Men usually don't like being told by their
wives that their skills need improving!

I'm also sure that Frederik knows about his impediment and I won't rule
out that he's had some training in this field.

I'm not sure that HM is the type who'd confront CP about his problem; according to herself she prefers the 'learning by doing' method and
besides, don't forget that she wasn't a brilliant speaker herself in her
younger years.

She still does to some extend but her public speaking abilities have
improved a lot over the past two decades.

As for CP Mary, yes maybe she could/can, however I don't know what it would do to their marriage. Men usually don't like being told by their
wives that their skills need improving!

Thanks Viv. You obviously know your Queen better than I do.
So there's still hope for Frederik. Who knows what his public speaking skills are like two decades from now.

And as for your second comment: Don't I know it

IIRC, Frederik said in an interview (or was it a book), that Mary was pretty straight forward about things,
even criticism.